A Birmingham driver has picked up a staggering 55 parking tickets – more than one a week – in the city over the last year.

The Volkswagen Golf owner tops the top ten city council list of shame of drivers who park where they like in the city – regardless of the consequences.

The unidentified motorist has paid a very heavy price for steering clear of legitimate car parks, however. If he or she failed to fork out for each £70 fine within 14 days, when the penalty is slashed to £35, a £3,850 bill has stacked up.

That would cover use of the council’s Paradise Circus multi-storey, within the B1 city centre’s entertainment district postcode where the bulk of offences occurred, for TWO YEARS. And the dozy parker would still have over £100 to spare. The serial-offender has also been snared in the B5 Bullring district and B19, which Hockley and Lozells fall into.

Coun Tahir Ali, council cabinet member responsible for highways, stressed the authority will vigorously pursue those who snub yellow lines. “Residents expect it of us,” he said. “The problem has been so bad in some parts of the city, buses had to divert.” Following a request under Freedom of Information regulations, Birmingham City Council has released the make and locations of cars that most frequently fall foul of wardens – but has refused to reveal the owners’ names.

The local authority’s ‘wheels of misfortune’ top ten shows some drivers don’t give a fig about spot fines – particularly in the city centre (B1), where seven of them have been frequently snared.

A Renault Megane – second in the list of illegal parkers – has been ticketed an incredible 52 times in B1, the third-placed MG TF 49 times.

Edgbaston (B16) is also a hotbed, with four drivers regularly caught there.

At £70 a ticket, those drivers have accrued a staggering £28,700 in fines. That would buy you a spanking new five door BMW.

Coun Ali said: “There are sufficient parking spaces, but some members of the public are simply not prepared to walk for five minutes after leaving their vehicles.

“Is it habit or arrogance?” he asked. “Restrictions are there for a reason. If you park illegally you are restricting vision and placing children and the elderly at risk.”

The 41-year-old added proudly: “I haven’t had a ticket since 2003, so I’m doing something right.”